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The International Tribunal for E-Waste: Ending the Race Towards Lethal Fallout

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The International Tribunal for E-Waste: Ending the Race Towards Lethal Fallout Seattle Journal of Environmental Law Volume 5 Issue 1 Article 4 5-31-2015 The International Tribunal for E-waste: Ending the Race Towards Lethal Fallout Erin McIntire Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjel Recommended Citation McIntire, Erin (2015) "The International Tribunal for E-waste: Ending the Race Towards Lethal Fallout," Seattle Journal of Environmental Law: Vol. 5 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjel/vol5/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Publications and Programs at Seattle University School of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Seattle Journal of Environmental Law by an authorized editor of Seattle University School of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The International Tribunal for E-waste: Ending the Race Towards Lethal Fallout Cover Page Footnote She would like to thank Professor Ananya Chatterjea (Ananya Dance Theatre) for helping develop her interests in using the law as a tool to solve global justice issues. This article is available in Seattle Journal of Environmental Law: https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/sjel/vol5/ iss1/4 The International Tribunal for E-waste: Ending the Race Towards Lethal Fallout Erin McIntire† Creating Forums for E-waste Claims that Serve as an Interim Mon- etary Solution to Human Rights Violations Caused by E-Waste Black Markets. In today’s high-tech era, the temptation for upgrades is everywhere: a slimmer cell phone, a sleeker desktop, a sportier BlackBerry. But the consequences of the constant quest for better gadgetry are piling up. - Reporter Juliet Eilperin1 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 77 II. Trash Receptacle: E-waste Dumping Grounds In Ghana and Nigeria82 A. How E-waste Developed in West Africa ........................................ 82 B. Annual Dumping Worldwide and within West Africa ................... 83 C. Deadly E-waste Areas in West Africa ............................................ 84 1. Welcome to Ikeja Computer Village, Lagos, Nigeria: The E- Waste Hub of Africa ...................................................................... 84 † Erin McIntire is a third-year law student at Seattle University School of Law who focused her studies on international law and human rights law. She will receive her Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law in May 2015. Ms. McIntire served as the Notes and Comments Editor for the Seattle Journal of Environmental Law. She graduated in May 2012 with a B.A. in Professional Strategic Communications, a B.A. in Dance, and a minor in French from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. She would like to thank Professor Ananya Chatterjea (Ananya Dance Theatre) for helping develop her interests in using the law as a tool to solve global justice issues. 1. Juliet Eilperin, Dead Electronics Going to Waste: Millions of Tons of Used Devices Pose Threat to Environment, WASHINGTON POST, Jan. 21, 2005, at A04. 75 76 Seattle Journal of Environmental Law [Vol. 5:1 2. Welcome to Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana: The Growing Metal Scrap Yard ..................................................................................... 85 III. Impacts of Developed-World Dumping In West Africa’s Port Cities 87 A. E-Waste’s Environmental Impact ................................................... 87 1. Negative Impact on Water Supplies ........................................... 87 2. Negative Impact to Soil.............................................................. 88 B. E-Waste’s Human Impact ............................................................... 89 1. Negative Impact of Lead on the Body ....................................... 90 2. Negative Impact of Flame-Retardants on the Body ................... 90 C. E-Waste’s Economic Impact on the Job Market ............................. 91 IV. An E-wasteland of International Laws: Creating the Black Market . 92 A. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1989) ................................. 92 B. The Amendment to the Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, “The Ban Amendment” (1995) ........................................................... 94 C. The Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa (1991) ............................................. 96 D. How these International Conventions’ Shortcomings Perpetuate the E-waste Black Market ......................................................................... 98 1. African Nations Participating in the Black Market .................... 99 2. Developed Nations Participating in the Black Market ............... 99 E. How a Black Market Generates One-sided Solutions to E-Waste Pollution ............................................................................................ 100 1. Benefits and Detriments of an E-Waste Ban to Developed Nations ......................................................................................... 100 2. Benefits and Detriments of an E-Waste Ban to Developing Nations ......................................................................................... 101 V. Designing International Litigation With Monetary Compensation as an Appropriate Interim Measure ........................................................... 102 A. What Should the International Claim Look Like? ........................ 103 B. What Sort of Formula Should Be Used to Yield Positive Results? 104 C. What about an International Tribunal for E-Waste? ..................... 105 VI. Conclusion ...................................................................................... 106 2015] The International Tribunal for E-Waste 77 I. INTRODUCTION Steadily, several developing nations, including China, India, Ghana, and Nigeria, compete in the world’s largest “race to the bottom.”2 But, which nation will victoriously emerge next as the world’s largest site for electronic waste dumping? More importantly, this article will assess how these developing nations entered into this toxic and deadly horserace. This article will explore the pathways and struggles to a successful international e-waste suit by explaining the origins of e-waste and how e- waste became the fastest growing solid-waste stream within Western Africa; discussing both the environmental and human impact that the United States and European Union have had in West Africa’s port cities of Accra, Ghana, and Lagos, Nigeria; introducing important international measures that have failed or even perpetuated the creation of the e-waste black market; discussing why international litigation with a monetary component would effectively serve, as an interim measure, to relieve the physical harm done to slum dwellers as well as assist the interests of developing nations in proper e-waste management; and detailing the difficulties in having international litigation for environmental damage to humans. Born from the Information Era and Digital Age’s boom in consumption patterns, electronic waste remains as the environmental fallout caused by “digitally-addicted,” hyper, first-world consumers, primarily in the United States and the European Union.3 Within the United States, one sees hyper and “digitally-addicted” consumers everywhere. One only needs to turn around to find someone checking a FuelBandTM; fidgeting with an iPhone, Blackberry, or other mobile device; clicking away on a laptop under the dim lighting in a Starbucks; and scrolling through a book on an e-reader. These habits have all become deeply engrained into Americans’ daily lives and consumers have become dependent on the next “new thing” that Information Technology (IT) industries push. Consumers’ addiction to upgrading serves as a prime example of how “digitally-addicted” consumers greatly harm the environment.4 As described by Eilperin, “the temptations for upgrades are everywhere: a slimmer cellphone, a sleeker desktop, [and] a sportier Blackberry.”5 After every technological advancement, first-world consumers flock to the 2. Saraswathi Muniappan, India’s capital emerging as world’s largest E-waste dumping ground, PHILIPPINES NEWS AGENCY, Aug. 30, 2013, available at LexisNexis Advance. 3. See Eilperin, supra note 1. 4. Id. 5. Id. 78 Seattle Journal of Environmental Law [Vol. 5:1 equivalent of our Apple Stores, Microsoft stores, and Wal-Mart outlets alike to pick up a copy of the next new, mass-produced item. Consumers want their “tech high.”6 Better yet, these savvy consumers always have options—whether to throw out the phone they bought two or three months ago for the same model that is upgraded with new color options including gold, electric blue, and bubblegum pink! Frequently, “digitally-addicted consumers” satiate their desires for more advanced technology—at the expense of third world countries—by throwing out their “old,” “obsolete” electronics. Electronic waste (e-waste) abounds when consumers throw out their old electronic products for new products. Scholars and reporters define e- waste as obsolete electronics or electronics that reach the end-of-life cycle.7 E-waste includes cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions; desktops; laptops; CRT and liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors; cellphones; Kindles, iPads, e-readers, and
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